Chapter 26: The Neighbor's Guest
The piece of corn fritter hadn't even made it halfway down their throats when someone appeared at the door.
"Excuse me," a voice said.
Huong Tra looked blankly toward the entrance—couldn't they even eat in peace? But the man standing there had an unfamiliar face. He looked very clean-cut and scholarly, dressed in a tucked-in button-up shirt, and was holding a bouquet of flowers. Definitely not one of Huong Tra's visitors. Could he be here for Kieu Ly?
She glanced at her friend, who looked just as puzzled.
The stranger quickly clarified:
"Hi, can you tell me which room is Bich Ngoc's?"
So, he was here for their neighbor.
Huong Tra smiled and pointed to the room next door:
"The room beside ours. But I think she's out at the moment."
The stranger thanked her, then sat down in front of the neighboring room's door and pulled out his phone to make a call.
He called several times, but no one answered. After a while, his phone rang back. Meanwhile, Kieu Ly and Huong Tra kept munching on sweet potato fritters, casually eavesdropping on the conversation.
"Where are you?"
"You said you were home? Don't lie. I'm standing right outside your door."
"I'll wait. I'll wait until you come back."
Bich Ngoc from next door had always been a bit of a mystery. During the day, she went to school like everyone else, but at night she often glammed up in short, flirty dresses and headed out. Once, Huong Tra had even seen her getting into a sleek black BMW at the end of the alley.
Since Huong Tra started her online business, Bich Ngoc occasionally stopped by to ask her to resell luxury items—offering a commission in return. Their relationship was more transactional than friendly. The items she dropped off were always expensive: handbags, perfumes, high-end cosmetics. Some were worth tens of millions of dong. So, Huong Tra had a pretty strong hunch that Bich Ngoc was being sponsored by a wealthy man.
But the guy today didn't look like a sugar daddy at all. He seemed more like... just one of the options. Maybe he showed up unannounced to catch his girlfriend off guard.
Huong Tra turned to glance at Kieu Ly and couldn't help but think:
Bich Ngoc isn't even as pretty as Kieu Ly—just more trendy. And yet she landed a rich guy to support her. Kieu Ly used to date a wealthy heir but came out of it empty-handed, even hurt.
Some girls are born lucky, others... not so much.
No, scratch that—Kieu Ly deserves real love. She will find her happy ending someday.
About an hour later, the neighbor finally came home. She walked straight to the stranger, pouting sweetly:
"Why'd you come here all of a sudden?"
"Missed you. Wanted to surprise you," he said.
"Sorry, babe. I was out at a friend's birthday party."
"Next time, bring me along. We're dating, after all."
"Okay, I promise."
As Bich Ngoc walked past their room, her perfume wafted in so strongly it nearly made Kieu Ly and Huong Tra sneeze. She wore a tiny dress that showed off her long, alluring legs. And just like that, a few flirtatious lines were enough to win the guy back over. She opened her door, invited him in, and quietly shut it behind them.
Kieu Ly and Huong Tra could hear... certain sounds coming from the room next door. They exchanged awkward glances, trying not to laugh or choke on their snacks.